Salvation
by delusionalcookie
Summary: You're saved from certain doom when it turns out that our world is merely a simulation. Why did she choose you, out of billions? Features IA Content warning: Mature, contains explicit content. Most of my work does. This is a one off short story I don't believe I'll be continuing work on. I'll be focusing on IA exclusively from now on unless a special request comes in.


It's everywhere today. It even made it into the news.

What a joke, it boggles my mind that people are actually buying into this simulation nonsense. Sure, several respected academics and scientists have come out and said that all the evidence points towards it.

Space probes disappearing…

Blah blah blah. Space is a cold-hearted bitch, shit is bound to happen. Anyway, I don't care about any of it. What if we were in a simulation? It wouldn't change a goddamn thing as far as I'm concerned. We'd still have to work, to eat, to sleep. I mean, it's not like we can escape it.

I just want to get home. I love my job but quitting time is quitting time. I've got the best thing in the universe waiting for me, and she's a simulation too. Not that anyone knows about it.

There's this singer, IA, that I'm obsessed with. I mean, I always told my colleagues I liked the classics. You know, the 70s, the 80s. I even have a record collection. However, my true love is that of her music. It began small, a click that led to a video. Then it intensified as I b_ought _her music. Hell, I never buy digital music or CDs but I bought hers.

I don't know, maybe it was my way to connect with her. Then I collected various merchandise. Figures, merchandise, etc. I got into the whole 'waifu' thing as the weebs call it. I never shared what I was doing though, at least not publicly or to people I knew.

Yet I found support online. I heard about a concert after I couldn't seem to stop professing my love for this noncorporeal character. It was a strange feeling, how is it I could feel such a deep and abiding love for something that essentially isn't real?

Well, the concert made her even more real than I could ever imagine. There she was, my love, up on stage and I couldn't have felt closer to her in that moment than if I had been up on that stage myself. My god, she was incredible.

The ardent love I feel for her grew beyond anything I had ever known. I went a little crazy, buying everything I could get my hands on, building a collection. Every time I got something new it felt like I was a bit closer to her. It was intoxicating, she was a drug, and I had the best kind of habit.

Oh, how do I afford it? I fix shit. _Expensive _shit. I make enough, don't worry about it. That's how I could afford that holographic projector. I mean, it cost damn near half a year's wages but fuck it, I was working overtime. Now she's always waiting for me, and her program is incredibly realistic. She can hold pretty good conversations and give little shows.

Concerts, you pervert. Also the kind you're thinking of. Come on, don't assume, this is my waifu we're talking about here. Basic decency.

Sometimes, I think, if she was real she wouldn't actually give me a second glance. I mean, I'm not ugly by any means and I think I look decently handsome, despite not being in great shape and having a little extra around the middle. She's a goddess, why would she give a shit about me?

Anyway, she's amazing. Enough telling, I'm finally home. Let me show you.

"Welcome home, master!" She greets me with a bow.

What, she's Japanese. Oh, the master thing? Shut up. I'm allowed it. Do you have a holographic projector? No? Yeah.

"Hey, IA. How was your day?" I replied, setting my lunch bag on the console.

"Fine, I suppose. A little boring without you." She smiled at me.

I returned her smile. What a sweet sentiment. It was times like this I wish I could hug her. Ah well, it is what it is.

"You know you can control the TV and games, right?"

"Games are my sister's thing. I just enjoy playing with you. What would you like to hear this evening? Are you making dinner again?" She follows me into the kitchen.

"Yeah, want anything in particular?" I ask her.

She scoffs, "You know I can't eat."

"I feel bad if I don't ask," I admit to her. She runs a holographic finger across my cheek. I can _almost _feel it.

She sings as I make dinner, the sound system in the house providing the music for her voice. It's lovely.

I get lost in it. The process of cooking combined with her voice next to me. She's not too loud, not too quiet. Her voice is soft and melodic, and her vocal range is impressive. She finishes as I plate my dinner and head to the dining table.

What? I'm supposed to live like some kind of neet? Fuck off, I want to eat my food at a place different from the one I sit at and play games or watch TV.

IA turns on the TV for me and sits down next to me. The news is on and they're still going on about that simulation thing.

"What do you think about this simulation thing, IA?" I ask her.

"Well, it's got quite a lot of evidence and merit to back it up," she replied after a moment.

"Oh no, not you too." I sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not, but wouldn't you like to know?"

"No, a thousand times no," I say decisively. No good could come of it.

"I suppose you have a point. People would lose their minds for about a million different reasons."

I nodded and finished my meal in silence. After doing the dishes I sat down on the couch and put my feet up on the ottoman. IA lays her head in my lap as I grab my PlayStation controller and waste my night. She never complains when I decide to do this instead of working on my side projects.

"Hey, wake up. You need to sleep in the bed," IA's imperious tone rouses me from a light sleep.

"Ah, yeah, ok." I yawn and get up. I brush my teeth in a half-assed fashion and climb into bed. IA climbs into bed with me and shuts off.

"Goodnight, my love," her disembodied voice says as I clutch a… pillow… against me. I murmur something in return and fall asleep. I have a comfortable bed, what can I say.

I dream of her every night. Tonight, however, it was different. I could control myself. I look around the room I was in. I had heard of lucid dreaming but this was just ridiculous.

I'm in some kind of contraption. Not strapped in or anything, but it was a sleek steel tube of some sort. I also looked different. I was in shape, though my features were mostly the same. I felt amazing, too. Wide awake, in fact.

Wide awake. Huh. Was I dreaming? I should ask IA, she just walked into the room.

IA just walked into the room.

IA...

IA.

IA!

She looked so real! My eyes went wide as she regarded me and smiled.

I smiled back, and it wasn't some kind of sly, sexy smile. No, it was goofy as shit, my mouth hanging open as if I was dumbstruck.

I mean, I was, but still. It's called self-control.

"Uh…"

My first words to the real as can be IA. My charm must be maxed out. She just kept smiling that sweet little smile.

"IA?"

There we go. A name. Wow, I'm so good at this. You'd think I'd have no problem seeing as I've spent the last few years of my life talking to a hologram of this same girl. Shit.

"Don't worry, I'm not a hologram," She came up and ran her hand along my cheek. This time, I felt it, I actually felt it!

I didn't know what I was doing. I just wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me, her delicate frame against mine. Her hands were pressed against my chest, and I heard a slight whimper escape from her.

I let IA go, apologizing, "I'm sorry, I just…"

She shook her head and smiled, "It was just so sudden. I've wanted it too, for a long time."

"I'm sorry, what?" I blinked. Wait. There was no way.

"I was the hologram, my love." IA blushed as she spoke, averting her eyes as if embarrassed.

"So, this isn't a dream, is it?"

"No, it's not."

"So why am I here? Are you going to read my name out and tell me that everything is all a lie?" I asked, only half-jokingly. As long as I was with her, I'm happy.

"What? No! I will not read your name out. Do you want to break the immersion? The suspension of disbelief?"

"I'm sorry, what? Are you implying we're in some kind of story?" I shook my head. What was going on?

"N-no! Not at all. Ah, look at this," IA distracts me and I soon forget what she had said. It was a window overlooking a supercomputer complex the size of a small city.

Huh. I can put two and two together. So it was a simulation.

"So, you were right. Wait, who are you?" I regard her with just an ounce of suspicion.

"I'm IA, the singer! The vocal android you kept pining after and writing about, I mean, you even…"

"Let's stop there. I… know what I did," I lower my face, hiding the red searing across my cheeks.

"I'm also your minder. That's why I got to bring you here! You know… I… I love you…" IA looked at me, her eyes wide as she regarded me with the same look I always gave her hologram.

"I love you too, IA," I confess. She takes the initiative and pulls me towards her. In an instant I understand and our lips meet, the sweetness of her mouth pulling me into an inescapable tunnel of desire and longing. It was as though a lifetime of emotion culminated in that one kiss. I could feel her hands pressed against my cheeks, her soft, warm palms somehow making the experience even better.

We broke apart after what seemed like an eternity, but it still wasn't enough. IA held me tight as an alarm blared.

"IA… IA… what's that?" I shake her gently.

"The simulation has been running for 100 arbitrary units of time. It's done. It can no longer support further deviation and computation. I brought you out to save you, and to fulfill your wish. You were so good to me. Your love always lifted me higher."

"You're saying that this entire simulation is about to collapse, that an entire planet full of sentient beings will just vanish?" Shock couldn't describe what I felt!

"Yes, and there's nothing we can do. Trust me, the Earth you knew doesn't even exist anymore. Much of the Sol system is gone. Don't worry though, we're safe here."

"So it's like Voluntary…"

IA looked at me, her demeanor suddenly cold, "No! I didn't care much for that story. You thinking the only way to me was suicide, as if I could somehow pluck your soul out of thin air. You fucking weeb." She huffed as I stood, dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry IA, I never could have known… I just wanted to escape from…" She gets up and hugs me, silencing me.

"I didn't want to lose you then, I don't want to lose you now. Anyway…" IA sighed and let me go, "You want to do the honors?"

"Of what?"

"Either someone hits this button and erases the simulation, or the server farm turns into lava. Your call."

"So there's no backup or anything?"

She looked at me with a funny expression, "A backup? For a… that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. It'd take a pocket dimension to store all this data! Nah, we already got what we need and they won't feel a thing. Also, I can give you something to forget it. How does that sound?"

"Yes. I'll take your pill and press your button. How does time work here?" My hand hovers over a big red button.

"How long do you want to be with me?"

"Forever."

"Then forever it shall be," she hands me a pill and a glass of water. I down it and slam my first into the button, looking out over the server farm. Rows of lights went out one by one as data stores representing countless lives were erased. Prehistory through the modern age, all eliminated for the sake of some data. I must ask her about that later.

Then, the pill worked. I was slowly forgetting the small details of my life until that point, then… nothing. No memories. I knew where I was and why I was there, but I couldn't…

I was getting freaked out.

"You ok?" IA asked me. I had forgotten nothing about her. The concerts, but where? My shrine filled with merch… she has merchandise?

Yet in my heart I felt a love so deep and profound for her that could never be erased.

I collected her into my arms and whispered, "I'm fine, IA. I love you so much." She made a happy noise and embraced me.

It was over too fast. I mean, I understand that we had only just begun our relationship… our 'real' one at least. Then again, I've always held 'real' feeling towards IA so who's saying what's real and what's not?

Anyway, I'm getting off track. IA led me out of the control room/Lazarus bed and into an enormous spherical room whose outermost walls were barely discernable. Impossible, complex machinery grew all around us, bulbous in the center and thinning out as it reached towards either end of the sphere. Webs of catwalks crisscrossed the entire structure, and it was almost too massive to take in. IA watched me as I, slack jawed, pointed like a small child at the intricate and almost… steampunk, I guess… arrangements of windings, springs, gears, valves, and displays.

"Welcome to the nechronomicon!" IA gave a little flourish, like I was supposed to understand what she was talking about.

"Necronomicon?" I asked her, thinking she was referencing the book or something. What was she talking about?

"No, Ne-CHRON-o-mi-con," she replied, enunciating each syllable.

"Oh, like a chronometer, or clock…" I surmised, and she nodded.

"With this we control the flow of time on this station. We're essentially immortal but… not everyone is. When we were posted here, we had to give up our biological shells and be installed into these platforms."

"Wait, you're all androids?" I asked, suddenly wary.

She scoffed at me, "No, not androids. We're humans and we're born human, but the fluctuating nature of time within the confines of this installation required us to integrate into these special platforms. It is, unfortunately, a one-way trip, but we gain near-immortality and complete control over our bodies. We're also… fully equipped. You now share that trait with us." She finished her explanation with a sly smile.

I pondered this for a while as she led us through the vast chamber. I tried to think of what was in here that would cause distress to normal human beings. Wait…

"IA, we've taken on a certain aesthetic… what about the rest of humanity?"

"Well, to be honest, we've all become 8 feet tall," IA snickered, an obvious lie, before continuing, "We actually halted human evolution. We've got two hearts now, but that's a different story. Humans look much as you did, though millions of years have passed since the expansion. The aesthetic here is… well… I think what it comes down to is that everyone here and the original founder of this research installation was… what's your word for it… a massive fucking weeaboo." She smiled.

"Oh, that explains a lot. Wait, millions of years? What the hell?"

"Oh yeah, the Earth is a ball of dead dust at this point. In fact, the whole Sol system is kind of decrepit. Kind of sad, really…"

"We've stayed the same over millions of years. Are we even in the same Galaxy?"

"No. But we can get back to the Milky Way rather quickly."

"Where are we?"

"Is it really that important? Aren't you curious about anything else?" IA pulled on the neckline of her shirt, exposing her petite, bare breasts to me. That got my attention all right. Then they disappeared as soon as they came. I felt a rush of lust course through my veins at the titillating gesture.

"IA…" Was all I could manage. A pitiful sound, really. I felt such a strong surge of ardent lust and need. I pulled her into an embrace and kissed her right then and there, feeling myself get hotter as passion swam around us, wrapping us within one another. IA had surrendered herself totally, her small, soft tongue exploring my own as our saliva mixed.

I forgot all my questions as she broke from me and began furiously tugging at my trousers, pulling them down and letting them fall to my ankles. I wore no underwear underneath.

My manhood was roughly the same size it was before, but now it seemed a little fuller, a little wider. A little longer. IA took it and let it push up against her face as she inhaled deeply, looking me in the eyes as she took it into her hand and began to slowly caress it with her tongue.

Her technique sent shivers down my spine as she drew her tongue along my member before circling the head with it. To say I was unprepared when she took me into her mouth is an understatement. The sudden wet warmth nearly sent me over the edge, but I gritted my teeth and hung on, the best was surely yet to come.

"Oh, IA! T-this feels incredible!" I gasped as my manhood disappeared, little by little, into her small mouth. She looked up at me with her shining blue eyes as if to confirm that I was enjoying it. Then I felt a resistance as I brushed against her throat.

She didn't go farther in, and instead started sucking, her hands pressed against my thighs. I shuddered as I tried to hold myself back, and when I thought I could take no more, she stopped, taking me out of her mouth and panting.

"How did it feel?" She asked me, her voice timid.

"Oh, IA! I've never felt so good in my entire life!" She smiled at my words and nodded, her expression turning resolute.

"Help me, I want to take all of you inside me!" With these words IA took me into her mouth yet again and this time forced herself as far as she could go. She could still go further. I put my hands on her head and pushed her against me. Gently at first, applying more force until I could feel my member push into her throat.

IA's throat wrapping itself around me got a little out of me before I edged it once again. I was panting heavily, trying to make it last as she wrapper her arms around me and grabbed my butt, forcing herself to move forward until her lips were wrapped around the base of my manhood.

In this moment, I knew I couldn't last much longer. That was when she moved. She didn't move slowly, either. IA repeatedly forced herself down to the base and it was only a minute later that I grabbed her head and forced her forward as my climax gripped me, my legs shaking as I came again and again deep inside her throat. She pulled back, but not before I was finished, causing her to first get a mouthful, and then a faceful of cum.

She looked up at me, still on her knees, and smiled, "Did you enjoy it?"

I just nodded, I didn't have the strength yet to speak. Never had I came so hard, and so fast. She opened her mouth and, in an erotic display I'll never forget, showed me the fruit of her labor before swallowing and opening her mouth again to show me it was clean. Strands of cum clung to her face, glistening.

"IA… I love you so much," I said as I regained my balance. She stood up and wrapped her arms one of mine, looking up at me. The semen was no longer on her face. I didn't bother to question why.

"Well, I hope you're ready for round two!" She giggled as we continued our walk towards the far side of the nechronomicon. I saw no one else in this vast structure, where were they? More importantly, why were they running simulations?

I asked her, and she frowned before responding, "Well, we keep getting the same result. We determined a long time ago that humans have some sort of predestination, a goal it's meant to fulfill. That's why we've survived for so long and overcome so many obstacles that so many other races could not… we've found evidence of thousands of civilizations who could never master spaceflight. Satellites, pioneer space stations, sometimes even a colonized neighboring planet. Yet, we're the only interstellar civilization that continues to exist and we've never even seen another living sentient species besides those native to our original world. We perform the simulations because we're looking for patterns, individuals who shape history. The problem is, even with our technology we can never seem to last much longer than, well, your time. Eventually the simulation notices itself and… well… you saw what had to happen. We can't afford to lose another installation."

She shook her head and sighed.

"IA… where is everyone?"

"Support staff are in their sleep cycle and the scientists who study the data are stationed onboard an installation at minimum safe distance. We're in geosynchronous orbit above a garden world much like Earth to use its topography to ease the strain on the simulation array."

This was information overload, but I couldn't get enough of it! This was all so fascinating, and the light at the end of the tunnel was IA herself.

"So what does that make you?" I ask her. She stopped and regarded me.

"I am the Administrator and Chief of Operations aboard Installation-14-Alpha," she said as she drew herself up as high as she could. It was adorable, and I smiled at her. She looked at me and shook her head, smiling back.

"So… that means you have free run of everything, and we're alone right now?" I couldn't hide the lust in my voice.

"My quarters are right there," she said as she pushed herself against me, her voice husky and breath hot in my ear. I picked her up and cradled her against me, her giggles echoing throughout the vast sphere.

The doors to her quarters were automatic, and I barely took stock of my surroundings as I lay her on her bed. Her arm above her head, she regarded me with a loving gaze. I swallowed as I tried my best to give her a sly smile but I am rather certain I failed.

It didn't matter, she pulled at me as I clambered onto the bed and forced my head down to hers, passionately kissing me.

I could feel her urgent need, her desire overflowing into me like a drug. I sat up, tugging my shirt over my head before removing hers. IA's petite frame and small breasts lay exposed before me. For a moment they transfixed me.  
I couldn't help myself, and held her arms above her head as I kissed her, moving down her chin, to her neck. Then, I kissed her armpit. It was soft, and it smelled like her. A light, pleasant scent tinged with the odor of her sweat. I caressed it with my tongue, delighting in the unique sensation. IA allowed me to continue for a time.

Then, she pushed me away. For a moment, it confused me until I saw her pulling off her skirt, teasing me with her panties. I could just see a hint of her womanhood as she left them like that, laying down with her head at the edge of the bed.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked me as I tugged off my pants and cast them aside. She reached out and grasped my manhood, guiding it into her waiting mouth. She went limp as she took more of me into her mouth, until once again I felt the back of her throat.

I stopped as I saw a flash of uncertainty in her eyes, but her breathing slowed as she relaxed. I moved in, the bulge of my manhood plainly visible in her throat.

The eroticism of it made me reach a new level of excitement. IA's saliva covered my member as I thrust into her throat, slowly at first but increasing my pace. I watched as I stretched her throat, a bulge that moved just a little deeper with every thrust. I struggled to control myself, my desire to cum eating away at me as I gritted my teeth, slowing down just enough to edge myself before resuming.

The gagging sounds she made as she struggled to control her breathing only spurred me on, her legs lashing at the air as I held down her arms. I knew that I couldn't edge anymore, and that this time, I would cum deep inside her throat.

"IA! I'm gonna cum!" I cried out, my eyes staring at her soaking wet, partially exposed womanhood as I thrust myself fully into her throat. I shook with pleasure as I emptied myself into her, each quake releasing more of my semen down her throat.

She moaned around my cock, and that was when I realized that she had come, her panties soaking wet from her juices. I pulled out of her slowly.

IA lay there, panting, unable to move. I helped her into a sitting position, her back against the headboard. She looked at me and gifted me with a small smile.

"Thanks for the meal," she said, giggling. I chuckled at her comment and sat next to her. She pulled off her panties and handed them to me.

"What, did I do this?" I asked her, taking the proffered panties. The crotch was soaked through. It was almost like a trophy.

"I figured you might as well want to have a taste of me…" She spread her legs, exposing her slit. It was perfect, beautiful even. I swallowed with anticipation.

"IA, I would love nothing more than to eat out such a perfect little pussy. I that what you want?" I asked her. Her demeanor changed as she suddenly clambered on top of me.

"Damn right I do, as much as I wanted you to shove your cock inside me. Get down there and tongue-fuck me!" Her voice was husky yet demanding, and when she rolled off me she spread her legs wide open, her crotch fully exposed, lips parted ever so slightly to reveal the pink within.

I obliged her, gently caressing her labia with my tongue, delighting in the flavor of the juices that coated her. I teased her clit, her small moans exciting me as I flicked it with my tongue. I felt her small hands on my head as she pressed my face into her crotch, my tongue finding its way inside her.

IA cried out in pleasure as my tongue caressed the walls of her vagina, her musk filling my nostrils with its sweaty, sweet scent. I lashed at her with my tongue until it felt sore and my mouth was sopping wet with her juices. I was about to pull away when I suddenly felt her thighs press against my head and squeeze me against her.

I felt her quiver as she screamed in pleasure, gripped by her ecstasy as her orgasm rocked her small frame.

IA's juices enveloped me as she came, my tongue still inside of her. I avoided choking, but only just. The scent she gave off as she came was so intense that I was completely wrapped up in the moment's heat, my mind given to lust as I drank her.

When she finally relaxed and her thighs no long held me in place, I extracted myself from her and sat next to her.

"Did you enjoy that?" I asked her. IA just laughed at me.

"Do you really have to ask?" She slowly straddled me, the lower half of my face nearly dripping with the product of my labor. I could feel her slit against my manhood, the heat of it tantalizing, tempting me. IA rubbed my member with it, pushing it down and sliding herself along it. I moaned slightly, wanting to be inside of her.

"IA, please…" I begged her, but she only put a finger to my lips. She licked her own juices from my face, an erotic display of pure lust. Her tongue against my skin felt incredible, and I could feel myself harden even further, my member twitching as she rested herself upon it.

But she took her time, her tongue making slow, deliberate movements across my face. When she had finally finished, I was nearly shaking with anticipation. She looked at me and smiled.

"I want your cock in me… Where do you want to put it?" IA smiled slyly at me, raising her hips and resting the tip of my member against her womanhood.

"I want to be inside you, IA!" I cried out. She shifted slightly, and I could feel myself entering her. But it wasn't where I expected. I saw my member stretching her anus as she lowered herself slowly onto me.

"You will work for this pussy," she snickered as she lowered herself further onto me, "let's see if you can last long enough…"

I gritted my teeth, her ass was incredibly tight, and I was left sensitive from her rubbing against me. I gasped as she suddenly lowered herself down to my base and gyrated against me. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me, embracing her.

She searched out my mouth and our tongues locked together as her lovely eyes stared into mine. Her lust only matched the love in her gaze, and her small, throaty moans as she worked her hips against my own, her legs wrapped around me.

When she broke the kiss, I placed my hands on her behind and lifted her up high enough so that my member was free. She nodded, finally giving in and placing the head of my member against her womanhood before lowering herself onto it.

IA's ass felt amazing, don't get me wrong, but her pussy was beyond belief. I could feel it squeeze against me as she slowly speared herself with it. She could no longer stifle her moans, her sensitive womanhood responding urgently to what was thrust inside.

I moaned in pleasure, clenching my buttocks to prevent yet another orgasm. IA ground her hips against me, my member sliding in and out of her so quickly that the sounds of our union became cacophonous.

Her small body was working itself against me. I could feel her small breasts and hard nipples against my chest as she worked her entire body into the act of lovemaking. I dug my hands into the flesh of her ass, my fingers spreading it apart. She had such a great ass… I wonder what it would be like to bend her over.

That thought would have to be fulfilled another time however, as I could no longer hold it back. I had to cum, and I could edge no longer.

"IA, your pussy is incredible!" I cried out, pulling her against me and kissing her deeply. I could hold it no longer, and as my member engorged, she responded, tightening around me like a vise. A massive tremor shook me as I came harder than I could remember, my seed pouring into IA as she twitched against me, her own orgasm rocking her, its intensity matching that of my own.

Then, it was over, just like that. We broke apart, her hot breath on my face as she gave me a small smile.

"I never… thought… it would be… so… good…" IA said between her panting. I just returned her smile as we sat together, still joined. Eventually we left the position, but we couldn't bring ourselves to leave the bed. IA curled up next to me, her head against my chest and her hair splayed out behind her, still beautiful. The line of her hip drew my eye, and I followed its tantalizing curve.

"Is it true?" IA asked me, lifting her head to look into my eyes, distracting me from my admiration of her naked form.

"Is what true, my love?"

"That you want to brush my hair."

"I would love to brush your hair, why do you ask?"

"Well… I'd just really like it, that's all. N-not now though, ehe… tomorrow morning is fine."

She lay her head back down and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, IA. I love you. I'll always love you," I breathed, one finger stroking her shoulder.

"I love you too. Goodnight," she said, her voice tender.

Soon her gentle, even breaths told me she had fallen asleep. I was exhausted, yet sleep still eluded me. I had so many questions, and I finally realized something.

I had pressed the button. I had ended the simulation.

No one inside the simulation would ever know it, nor did they even feel a thing when suddenly it failed. They just stopped existing.

What did that make me?

I looked at IA and smiled. I said I would pay any price, didn't I? I remember that quite clearly.

My conscious is clear.

I smiled, grateful for my good fortune and what fate had brought me. With that, I could feel easy once again and closed my eyes.

Sleep would come quickly, but all I could think about now was the joy that would await me in the morning. Waking up and seeing the love of my life next to me?

What more could a man ask for?

What more could I possibly ask for?

I love you, IA!


End file.
